


Seven Capital Sins

by HenriettaDarlington



Series: The Kids Aren't Alright [2]
Category: Powerpuff Girls
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-26
Updated: 2014-12-13
Packaged: 2018-02-22 17:38:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2516198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HenriettaDarlington/pseuds/HenriettaDarlington
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A nice girl makes a friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Envy

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to my Thalia.

Being a cheerleader when you could fly was pretty pointless. Bubbles didn’t need a base to get up in the air. She also didn’t need backspots either, she was completely invulnerable. Just a few days ago she had been slammed into a building so hard she broke most of its major supports and still wasn’t late to art class an hour after. A fall from this height wouldn’t even bruise. She only had either of those things for appearances sake. One girl, after all, did not a pyramid make.

That didn’t matter much either way. The stunt was over quickly and she was back on the ground again, bouncing around and trying to hype up the crowd.

“GIVE ME A H! GIVE ME AN E! GIVE ME A R! GIVE ME AN O! GIVE ME AN E! GIVE ME A S! WHAT’S THAT SPELL! TOWNSVILLE HEROES! WHOA!” Yeah the cheers were a little silly, but weren’t all high school cheers.

Cheerleading wasn’t really needed by this point, though. It was fourth quarter with less than a minute to go and they were ahead by seven. It would take a monster attack to make the Townsville home team lose this week. However, monster attacks weren’t unheard of in Townsville, so Bubbles and the rest of the cheerleaders weren’t done for the night.

The loud buzz of the bell signaled both the last point scored and the end of the game and roused Bubbles from her thoughts of what she would do if a monster or villain attacked right at that moment. She had to stay prepared for those kinds of things now, with Buttercup gone the Powerpuff’s had lost their toughest fighter.

Either way she had more fun things to focus on at the moment!

“Ohmigosh, Robin!” Bubbles twirled around to face her best friend and co-captain, “Did you see the way Mitch jumped over that guy to get a touchdown?”

 The brunette nodded, bouncing excitedly on her heels, “Oh, man, it was amazing!”

And it was amazing! Bubbles and Robin’s graduating class had singlehandedly brought Townsville High School into the state playoffs last year and appeared to be on their way to be doing it again. It was mostly the work of quarterback Mitch Mitchelson, Robin’s boyfriend, who had managed to turn his aggression from classroom bullying to football field glory.

“He’s going to get scouted for sure this year.” Robin said, grinning broadly, “I heard there were even scouts at this game from Citysville!”

“That would be totally amazing!” Bubbles nodded enthusiastically.

Robin whipped her head around to look onto the field where her was standing, “I’ve got to go congratulate him, I’ll see you later.” She ran off, long brown hair flapping behind her.

Bubbles stood there for a moment before she turned to the rest of her squad, “Okay girls, that was a fantastic game. We’ve had a long week so the coach said we could go straight home, but be in the gym right after school Monday for practice!”

This was all the encouragement the other girls needed to head off to go home or out to eat of run off with their boyfriends. Normal teenage girl things. Bubbles watched them go for a second then picked up her pompons again and smiled. It was a nice night and it went by without a single incident of supervillain activity! Now she could go home and take a long hot shower, assuming Blossom hadn’t used up all the hot water.

It was a pretty, clear night. The October air was cool enough that she needed her windsuit jacket over her uniform, but under the shining night sky Bubbles couldn’t help but love Townsville. High towers sparked in the moonlight and the people seemed to shine too. Everyone was in such a good mood from the football win, laughing and talking to people they usually would not have given the time of day. Bubbles adored the camaraderie and decided right there that she would walk home instead of flying. It was easier to soak in the pleasantness of the evening that way.

Bubbles knew everyone in Townsville by name and didn’t hesitate to greet them, waving at classmates, parents, and teacher alike with a happy, “You did great out there, Dave!” and a cheeful, “Tell Myrna I say hi, John!” They said hello back, of course. She was a Powerpuff and that made her everybody’s friend. She blew people kisses and inquired on the state of family members who weren’t there. When she heard her name she turned to to say hello to whoever was talking, but once the conversation registers the hello died on her lips.

“Looks I’m just saying that Blossom is the hottest Powerpuff.” It was a boy name Blake Davis. He was a senior and on the tennis team. Buttercup had saved his life when Mojo Jojo caved in the school using a giant robot and now he was ranking her sisters on hotness.

It wasn’t like Bubbles didn’t know that guys thought about that kind of stuff. She had read the blogs and forum posts and been adequately grossed out at the idea some grown man had been getting off the her since she was like eleven. She would have just turned around and pretended that she didn’t hear them talking about her sisters like that. She wasn’t prepared for what she heard next.

“Man, as long as it’s not Bubbles I’m good. I’m not some sort of fucking pedo!”

Pedo?

“Yeah,” Blake laughed in agreement, “Bet she doesn’t even know what sex is.”

Bubbles face was flushed pink and suddenly it didn’t seem so fun to walk home. She shot into the air, startling the people surrounding her and leaving a bright blue trail in her wake. 

\---

She didn’t immediately go home, she didn’t really want to. Her stomach felt like it was tied in knots and her face burned hot. All she could think about was how it wasn’t her fault she couldn’t date. It wasn’t like she wanted to be all alone and it wasn’t like she wanted to devote every single waking moment to superheroics. Bubbles Utonium would have given anything to have it easy like Robin. Robin could relax and kiss boys and go shopping without having to worry that if she did something stupid it would end up online for the whole world to make fun of. Robin didn’t have to hear Blossom yelling at her about how “Of course they couldn’t have boyfriends!” and how apparently she “Wants to run off with some fucking supervillain like Buttercup!” When thats not what she wanted at all. All she wanted was someone to take her out to the movies then kiss her goodnight on the front porch afterwards. Now she was crying and her game day eyeliner would a wrecked.

A tissue was pressed into Bubbles hand and she used it to wipe her eyes with a grateful, “Thank you.” Before she realized she was still far above the city of Townsville. She opened her eyes to see the last person she had expected and yelped loudly.

“There, there, Bubbles, no need for crying.” Him was lounging comfortably on a cloud in front of her.

Him looked precisely the way Bubbles remembered. He was unnervingly tall and thin, with unnaturally long limbs, arms ending in large red lobster claw and legs with shiny black boots. His little red dress was still trimmed with white fur and belted neatly. Him’s hair was slicked back and his goatee was perfectly shaped. A black lipsticked grin stretched from pink cheek to pink cheek and seemed to move slightly out of sync with what he was actually saying. It had been three years since the girls had last fought him and he hadn’t aged a day.

Bubbles moved back warily. If she flew off and got Blossom that would leave Him unsupervised to do whatever evil he had planned, but on the other hand there was no way she could take him out by herself. “Him.”

“Hello, Bubbles,” His voice echoed in the night sky, but she knew it would echo just as much in a small room. That’s simply how his voice was, “It’s so nice to see you again.”

“It’s nice to see you, too.” It wasn’t nice at all.

After that she couldn’t think of anything else to say. What did you say to something like Him? He was staring at her unblinkingly, it felt like he was staring into her soul and knowing Him, he might have been. He grinned at her and lunged forward.

Bubbles jerked backwards with a scream and shoved him away hard. Him flew back then stopped. In a flash of light he was gone and back again, now barely inches from her face.

“Oh so quick to the punch aren’t we, Bubbles. What happened to that nice little girl I met ten years ago?” He cooed and ran a claw-hand across her cheek.

She pulled back, away from his enormous claw, voice sharp and offended, “I’m not a little girl anymore!”

“I know you’re not a little girl anymore,” Hands held up in mock surrender, his face was the picture of false innocence, eyes wide and mouth pouting. He floated around her and looked her up and down, face back to that creepy smile, “Why, you’re all grown up these days.”

Part of Bubbles was deeply disquieted at the look Him just gave her, but another was oddly pleased. At least someone could see that Bubble Utonium wasn’t some stupid little kid, “Thanks. And you’re still, well, you.”

He laughed and the way it echoed sent a shiver down her spine, “Indeed I am, call it a perk of being me.”

“So,” She bit her lip nervously, Him being friendly was never a good sign, “What brings you to Townsville?”

Him sighed dramatically, “Oh, it does get terribly lonely back home. I simply wanted to check up on my favorite Powerpuff.”

That surprised her, “Favorite?”

“But of course, Bubbles dear,” He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and wouldn’t let her shrug it off, “Who else but you would be my favorite?”

“Blossom? Buttercup?” Those were the two only other answers after all.

He shook his head and pulled her into a hug that left her squirming. She felt a claw run through one of her ponytails. The hug left her pressed chest to chest with the man and his grin was mere inches from her face, “Why those two are so boring compared to you, dear Bubbles. You’re so much sweeter than either of those two. So much nicer. So much better.”

Bubbles pushed back with all her super strength and managed to escape the hug, glaring at Him, “Don’t talk about my sisters like that! They’re both great and I’m not better than them!”

“My sweet Bubbles,” He smiled at her, almost fondly for once instead of the disturbing clownish grin he usually wore, “You are though. So bright, so kind, so incredibly good. Why you were so good that you even almost befriended a monster like me. Do you remember that?”

She did remember. The first time the girls ever met Him was when he impersonated her octopus doll and almost destroyed Townsville. Later on he tried to use her against the others by convincing her to channel her anger into evil drawings that came to life. Both times he was defeated with the help of her sisters. Bubbles frowned at Him.

“Ah, so you do remember.” His grin was wicked again, “Oh, didn’t we make such great friends.”

“You tried to use me to destroy Townsville!” She glared at him, but he ignored her.

“Great friends help each other,” He was back to staring into her soul, “When I saw my sweet, dear friend Bubbles was in trouble I simply couldn’t resist coming to help her.”

“I’m not in trouble,” But she looked around quickly. She wouldn’t be surprised if he had some monster ready to attack when she said those exact words.

“That’s strange,” He motioned to the tissue still clutched in one hand, “Mortals don’t usually cry if somethings not wrong.”

“Well you’re mistaken, nothings wrong, sorry to interrupt your evening you should probably just go home now.” Bubbles was not about to get dragged into another of Him’s evil plots.

“Something is wrong,” He leaned forward, close to her, “You’re envious.”

Bubbles laughed, that was ridiculous, “Of who?”

Him shook his head, “I wondered that myself, what would a girl who can do anything want? But I know a lot about envy, Bubbles, and realized it was so simple. You’re jealous of those other girls, the normal ones.”

“No I’m not!”

“Aren’t you?” Bubbles looked away from his smile, “You are. You’re jealous of the normality of their lives. You wish you could have what they have. A life free of responsibility. Happiness.” He leaned so close that if he breathed she would have been able to feel it, “Love.”

“I…” She stared down at the city below them and tried not to cry more. He was right.

Bubbles Utonium wanted to be like Robin more than she wanted to breathe. Bubbles wanted to be carefree and happy and have a boyfriend. She wanted her biggest worry to be studying for science. She wanted people to look at her and see Bubble the person, not Bubbles the hero.

“No one can blame you,” He sounded like he was actually trying to be nice, “I would hate them too, if I were you.”

“I don’t hate them!” Bubbles voice was high and defensive. She didn’t hate them, really! They were her friends and she wanted them to be happy, but…

It just wasn’t fair that they got to have all that when she couldn’t have anything. She was patrolling the sky above Townsville while they were out on dates. They were having sleepovers while she was fighting monsters. They had families that loved each other when she didn’t even have a phone number to find Buttercup at. Why didn’t Bubbles get to be happy like everyone else? After she had given so much to keep the world safe she didn’t even get to really live in it.

“Oh, sweet Bubbles,” Him cooed and brushed a tear from her cheek. How he did that with enormous lobster claws was anyones guess, “Don’t cry. I’m here to help.”

“No you’re not!” She snapped, “You’re evil. You’re going to act like you want to help me then use it to hurt everyone!”

He pulled back and for a moment she was afraid she said something that will make Him decide to give up on this idea and just go terrorize Townsville properly. The moment passed when he took her hands surprisingly gently, “Dear Bubbles, I’ve been what I am since before you can even comprehend. I’ve grown rather tired of being alone.”

She looked at Him and tried to think for a moment what that would be like. All alone for all eternity. Nobody to ever turn to. Suddenly Bubbles felt rather bad for Him. The tears were welling up again.

“You are the first being in my long life to make an honest effort at friendship, even if under false pretenses. I’m only returning the favor.”

Bubbles took a deep breath, then looked at him seriously, “You’re offering to be my friend?”

He nodded and despite his smile he looked serious too, “And to help you be happy. For isn’t that the meaning of friendship?”

“And you won’t hurt anyone because of it?”

Him shook his head, “I will do nothing you don’t expressly desire.”

It was a terrible idea. Being friends with Him was possibly the stupidest thing she could ever try to do. It blew running off with a supervillain out of the water. “Okay.”

“Okay?” He dragged the word out.

Bubbles smiled at Him, still a little wobbly from crying, “Let’s be friends, Him.”

\---

Later that night, lying in bed, Bubbles couldn’t help but know she made a decision that couldn’t go back on. Whether it was a good or bad one waited to be seen.


	2. Gluttony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A man and a woman go to dinner

The next week was relatively uneventful.

Sure, there were a few of the usual fights during patrols after school, but just normal stuff -- nothing out of the ordinary. Bubbles woke up every morning, went to school, then to practice, and then she flew over Townsville to scan for crimes. There wasn’t even a monster or villain attack. The worst thing that happened the entire week was when Bubbles made a C on a science test Blossom made an A on. Still, Bubbles was on edge.

She’d seen neither hide nor hair of Him the entire week, despite his promise of friendship, and that left her worried. The only thing worse than Him openly messing with you was knowing he was planning to do so. While he had seemed nice enough, Bubbles knew better than to be fooled by someone who was visibly evil.

What’s worse was that she couldn’t even tell anyone why she was so nervous. Blossom would kill her if Bubbles told her that she agreed to some semblance of friendship with Him. Bubbles could hear her now, yelling about her being a stupid kid who needed to grow up and learn they had a responsibility to Townsville not to invite villains into it to cause even more trouble than usual.

At least there was no game tonight; it had been rained out. That meant all she had to do was patrol, which she just finished, and she was free for the night.

She stretched out on her bed and sighed. Her room was decorated with paintings she had done over the years. The curtains to her circular window was gauzy and blue and even though it was dark out, they still brightened up the room. Plush white carpet covered the floor. The entire room was soft and comforting, the precise way she liked it.

Well, actually she had liked it better when she had shared a room with her sisters, but after Buttercup left, she and Blossom just couldn’t stand staying in the room that had been the three of theirs.

There was no point in focusing on the sad past, though, so she sat up and tried to decide what she would do tonight. Catching up on homework was a smart but unappealing prospect. Or maybe she could finish  Julius Caesar ; she was halfway through it and really needed to finish it for school.

“Or perhaps you could join me for a nice dinner?” The voice purred in her ear and it as all Bubbles had in her not to scream.

She whipped around to face the voice, plastering a nervous grin on her face, “Hi, Him.”

Him was lounging on her bed, propping his head up against his claw and grinning, as usual, “So how about it? I can assure you you’d have a lovely time.”

Jumping off of bed, she shook her head, “Um, as great as that sounds I’ve got so much homework, high school stuff!”

He sat up and frowned, wounded, “The way you talk it’s almost like you don’t want to spend any time with me.”

Loose blonde hair swished as she shook her head quickly, “It’s not that, I’m just busy is all.”

“Is that all?” He sat up, his giggling echoing in the room, “Why, Bubbles, your homework is already done.”

“No it isn’t,” It wasn’t. She’d been putting it off all week.

With a dramatic flourish he pulled a stack of papers from behind his back and handed them to here, “Yes it is.”

Lo and behold it was her homework, completely finished. It was written in red pen in her handwriting, but she had never done it. “If I turned this in that would be cheating.” It was the lamest excuse ever, but it was all she had.

“Dear, sweet Bubbles,” Him sighed as if she was being the difficult one, “Don’t you want to live a little?”

It was like some sort of oppressive staring contest. His eyes bored into hers and she glared back. It took a lot of willpower not to look away, Him’s eyes were terribly uncomfortable to look at. The scleras were lime green and he had no irises, just black pupils.

His claw shot out and Bubbles looked down automatically, reflexes primed by years of fighting to prepare for a hit.

“So shall we?” His smile bordered on friendly and so she gave him her hand, albeit hesitantly.

That was all he needed as incentive to clamp his claw around her hand, not hard enough to hurt, and sweep her off her feet, dragging her into floating with him. He held in a waltzing position for a moment, grinning in a way that said she should know better than to trust him. When she blinked he teleported them out of her bedroom.

She squeaked and pulled away from him, twisting around to look at her surroundings. They were in Hell.

Well, it was Hell, if Hell was a very fancy restaurant

They stood together in the arched entryway to a five-star, vaguely French-looking restaurant. The floor was black marble and the walls were covered in rich velvet red wall paper. The ceiling was so high Bubbles couldn’t see it even with her enhanced sight; just swirling black clouds. The windows were wide and arched, but nothing could be seen through them but the glow of red flames. None of the waiters or patrons looked human. They appeared to be all manner of demons and grinning skeletons, half rotted zombies and half visible ghouls.

“Where are we?” Bubbles turned to Him and stared, wide eyed.

“It’s called Dante’s Inferno.” He noticed her nervousness and wrapped a reassuring arm around her shoulder, “Don’t worry, dear, we have reservations.”

Normally she would awkwardly try and shake his arm off, but this was his territory and she wasn’t stupid enough try and get away from him here. He had the upper claw in this case.

“Come along,” He pulled her in smoothly, not bothering to wait for someone to come seat them. He clearly knew where he was going as they walked through the restaurant, chin held high and smiling broad. He was showing off. Bubbles noticed the way that people twitched a little as he passed, pulling out of his way and regarding him fearfully.

He led her up some stairs and onto a balcony overlooking the entire room. There was only one table, neatly set for two.

He pulled out a chair and motioned for her to sit, then sat on the other side of the table.

“What do you think?” He was staring at her again.

“It’s lovely,” And scary, but she wasn’t about to say that.

“Just like you.”

She blinked at him then looked down at herself. Sometime between when he showed up in her room he changed her clothes without her even realizing it. Instead of the familiar short blue crime fighting dress she had been wearing she was wearing a pale blue dress. It was off the shoulder with an empire waist, draping over her hips and trailing to the floor. She couldn’t feel her shoes but they at least felt like flats.

Before she could ask why he did this a waiter showed up, appearing beside their table out of nowhere. The skeleton appeared to be a man, if for no other reason than he was wearing a suit. He bowed deeply to Him, “My Lord, how might I serve you this evening?”

“Hmmm,” Him thought for a moment, tapping his bearded chin with his claw then smiled, “ I’ll be having calamari. Bubbles, what would you like?”

She considered the fact he had taken the form of a giant octopus the first time they met and wondered if that made it cannibalism. She bit her lip then gave the skeleton man a friendly smile, “I’ll have a salad.”

“And what will you and the lady be having to drink tonight, my Lord?” He addressed his question to Him again.

Him replied smoothly in latin and Bubbles bristled.

Once the waiter disappeared she turned to Him and frowned, “You ordered me wine.”

“You speak Latin?” He seemed amused by this, “How delightful.”

“It’s my special power.” Despite what people said, being a polyglot was the most useful power she had. “You do know I’m too young to drink?”

“Sweet girl,” He laughed and it echoed so much that everyone in the restaurant must have heard it. His voice went deep and demonic for the first time since the girls had last met him as a group, “My word is law here.”

She clenched her fists and honestly considered how best to escape without collateral damage.

His voice went back to normal, high and cooing, “If I say you’re old enough here, then you are.”

The uncomfortable staring contest recommenced for the time it took for the waiter to bring their food. The food was a welcome distraction from how dreadfully awkward it was to have Him staring into her soul.

“So,” Maybe she could make things a little less awful with some small talk, “How have you been these last few years?”

“Me?” Him, to no great surprise, was very interested in talking about himself, “I’ve been simply marvelous!”

“How so?”

“I have some simply excellent things brewing on earth that let me assure you will blow you girls’ socks off when they happen! And don’t get me started on here, we’ve made some great expansions over the years down here and the things the afterlife holds now would stun someone who arrived last century!” He was positively preening, the way he was talking about the atrocities he was responsible for.

Bubbles grimaced. That was awful.

He picked up on her distaste and changed the subject, “Plus of course I’ve taken some time off from all that sort of fun. I’ve gotten in excellent shape, you know. This is two dress sizes smaller than when we last met to fight.”

“Congratulations.” That was at least better than thinking about whatever evil plots he was up to.

“And how have you been doing, Bubbles?” He leaned on the table to regard her with interest.

She smiled nervously, “Oh, we’ve been great! Crime’s down in Townsville right now, so we’ve clearly been making a huge difference.”

“No no no, Bubbles, I’m asking about you.” He shook his head seriously, “Not your sisters. How has Bubbles Utonium been doing?”

Bubbles really wasn’t sure how to answer that, “Well, I’m a cheerleader now.”

“Do you enjoy it?”

She smiled, “Yeah, plus having super strength makes you a really good base for stunts.”

“I’d imagine so! Do you fly in stunts as well?” Him was giving her his full attention, it was so nice.

“Sometimes, but I don’t actually like flying for cheer.” She said it like telling a secret.

“You don’t.” The look of focus he was giving was wonderful, like she was the only person who mattered.

She shook her head, “I know what it’s like to actually fly. It’s all freeing but at the same time you’re in control. When you’re being tossed by someone it’s almost scary. You can only do so much if you can’t actually fly.”

Bubbles looked down and realized that she had finished her wine, “Oh.”

The waiter was back by the table again, refilling her glass, “Would my lord like anything for dessert?”

“I’ll have some German black forest cake,” Him never even took his eyes of her, “And you, darling?”

She giggled, head swimming a little from the wine. It was the first time she’d ever drunk alcohol. “No, I’m fine.”

“Bubbles, you simply must treat yourself. They have some of the best cooks who have ever lived here.” He was staring into her eyes again and it felt like he was trying to mind control her again.

“Well,” She considered all the desserts she’d ever had, “Can I have a kiwi-pomegranate angel pie? Those are so great.”

The skeleton bowed again and disappeared, only to reappear swiftly with the desserts. Once they were placed in front of them and their wine glasses were once again refilled, he was gone.

“The service here is really good.”

“They do know better than to slight me here, dear.” His voice was so affectionate.

She hummed as she ate some of her pie then blinked when she realized something, “This isn’t one of those things where if you eat something from the underworld you can never leave is it?”

Him laughed and rolled his eyes, “If I was intending to do something like that I could just brainwash you. I wouldn’t go through the trouble of some pretense of friendship.”

“Oh, that’s good.” She smiled. He wasn’t that bad company, even if he was still demonic looking.

“Things aren’t the way they used to be when all that pomegranate seed nonsense happened.”

“Wait,” She giggled and raised an eyebrow, “Were you there?”

“I am older then your entire species, of course I was there.” He gave her a conspiratorial grin, “The Romans were simply the best soap opera.”

She laughed, then looked down and realized she had finished her wine and pie.

“You simply must try this,” Him offered her a fork full of cake, “It’s positively scrumptious.”

She shook her head and held up her hands in a ‘no more’ motion, “I’ve already eaten a lot tonight.”

“Oh, indulge yourself,” He held it out to her and it was tempting looking, chocolatey and moist, “You deserve it.”

She blinked at the low growly undertone his voice took at the end and decided it wise to do what he said. “Okay, if you insist.” She leaned forward and ate it, the drunk part of her mind making some reference to indirect kisses.

The conversation lulled after that until they decided to leave. Him didn’t even pay before he took her hand and they were back in Bubbles’s bedroom.

She leaned heavily on him and giggled, trying not to be loud enough to attract Blossom’s attention, “Gosh, I ate so much.”

He set her on her bed and stroked her hair, “There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Yeah, there is, I’m such a glutton.” She pressed into his touch, it was so nice.

“And what’s so wrong with enjoying something as natural as eating?” That was a good question.

She tried to think through the warm, drunken haze, “Nothing?”

“Exactly, Bubbles!” He sounded so delighted, she must have said the right thing.

Yawning, she stretched back onto the bed, “I’m so tired.”

His chuckle was low, but not demonic, “Then sleep.”

It didn’t take much of his magic to make her sleep.

 


	3. Greed

Saving the city of Townsville was not a job. Not from a strictly legal standpoint, that is.

Superheroes didn’t get time off or sick days. Their work places didn’t meet OSHA codes. If they got injured fighting crime, they had no health insurance to pay for their treatment. There were no poorly made training videos from the eighties to tell them how to deal with dissatisfied customers. Most of all, they didn’t get paid.

It’s not like the Utoniums were in the poor house or anything. The professor was a genius and they had more than enough money to live comfortably, even with the constant repairs needed from the occasional super villain fight. They never had to actively go without to get by, but they weren’t rich. At no point were the girls expected to get jobs to help support the family.

Still, the Powerpuff Girls worked more hours than a full time job, with very little reward.

This lack of reward was why Bubbles audibly gasped when she opened her locker to see a diamond necklace.

“Oh my gosh!”

Robin, at her neighboring locker looked over and whistled, “Wow!”

It certainly was wow worthy.

The necklace was gold inlaid with glittering diamonds that must have worth a fortune. Though it was long, the ridiculous amount of jewels made it stay in shape. Right in the middle was an enormous blue sapphire, the size of an egg. Neatly tied to it was a little red piece of paper, proclaiming ‘Ego sum dominancium dominus’. It sparkled in the fluorescent lights of the high school hallway, terribly out of place.

Girls began to crowd around Bubbles’ locker it wasn’t every day that someone got a fancy necklace from nowhere.

“It’s so pretty!”

“Move over -- I can’t see it!”

“How much do you think it cost?”

“So shiny!”

“Move out of the way, losers!” A redheaded girl pushed the crowd apart, huffing, “What’s the big deal?”

Bubbles, who had been previously trying keep anyone from seeing the necklace, turned to the girl, “Nothing’s the big deal, Princess.” The last person she wanted to deal with was Princess Morbucks.

The rich girl was the bane of everyone’s high school existence. Five feet two inches of pure snob, she was the embodiment of every negative stereotype associated with popular girls. From her curly red hair, commonly described as full of secrets, to her vaguely private school uniform outfit, she clearly thought she was better than all the kids at school. She popped her gum the gazed boredly at Bubbles, “Um, something’sobviously a big deal, dummy, or else everyone wouldn’t be hanging around a loser’s locker.”

Before Bubbles could take evasive action in the form of setting something on fire with laser vision as a distraction, her saving grace arrived.

“Hey, guys,” It was Blossom, “What going on here?”

The pretty girl was the nightmare for the criminal sect of Townsville. At only five feet five inches and one hundred and twenty pounds, she could stop a speeding train with her bare hands. She had the brains to back up her brawn she was currently working on a master’s degree and was only at high school often enough to fulfill the requirements. Blossom Utonium was known to find the flaws in a villain's death rays and giant robots then rip them to pieces verbally as well as physically. To top it off she was beautiful to a degree that no teen should be, sharing the same perfect hourglass figure and symmetrical face that her sisters did. The only difference was her waist length red hair and pink eyes.

Bubbles bodily shielded the locker, “Totally nothing!”

But Blossom wasn’t even addressing her, “Don’t you have a parole to be violating?”

Princess rolled her eyes, “Don’t you have some other legally innocent person to harass?”

The two redheads were locked in a stare off.

The crowd parted when Blossom walked through it and she didn’t stop until she was close enough to Princess and Bubbles that only they could hear her, “I asked what’s going on here.”

Bubbles shrunk back from her pink sister, but Princess regarded her with bored distain, “Bubbles has something in her locker that’s apparently the best thing ever.”

“Bubbles?” Blossom finally seemed to notice the blue girl instead of the rich one, “What is it?”

There was only one solution. Lie as hard as she could.

“I just found this really weird necklace in my locker! I don’t know who it’s from, do you think I should take it to the lost and found?” Bubbles knew precisely whose it was and he probably wouldn’t let her give it back.

The genius heroine held out her hand, “Let me see it.”

With a sigh of defeat, Bubbles pulled the glittering necklace out of her locker. Hanging from her hand it glittered in the hallway lights and looked like some medium sized European kingdom’s crown jewels. Everyone in the hallway seemed transfixed by it until Bubbles handed it to Blossom and laughed nervously, “Isn’t it pretty?”

“Yeah,” Even Blossom was taken in by it, but then she shook her head, “We should probably get these back to the Professor and he’ll test them to see if they’re real it could be something stolen.”

“Oh, those are real,” Princess cut in, leaning forward to get a good view of it.

Blossom side-eyed her, “And how would you know?”

“Look at the way the light’srefracting it’s super sharp. If it was fake it would either be blurry or totally clear.” Princess seemed offended her knowledge of precious gems had been questioned, “Plus look at those sparkles it’s got to be real.”

Blossom sighed and grabbed her sister’s hand, “We need to go deal with this.” She gestured with the hand still holding the necklace.

The crowd continued to watch them as they walked down the hall and out the front door of the school. Bubbles was practically dragged along when Blossom took off, but not for long. She flew at the same speed as her sister as they flew above Townsville to their house.

Once they were there Blossom didn’t hesitate before laying out a plan, “First we get the professor to check what this thing’s really made of god only knows why Princess thinks she can tell. I’ll go find out if any precious stones are missing.” She shoved the necklace into Bubbles hands, “Take it to the professor.”

With that instruction, Blossom leapt back into the sky. The pink streak she left behind stood out against the blue sky.

The necklace also stood out against the the slight tan of Bubbles’s skin. It was really quite striking in the sunlight it almost glowed from within.

“I hope you like it,” the now familiar voice cooed in Bubbles’s ear,“It’s one of the prettiest things I’ve ever seen.”

Bubbles sighed as she turned to face the voice she wasn’t actually expecting him to be behind her physically.

“Him!” It turned out he actually was.

The evil man stood out like a sore thumb. His dark red dress and skin were a huge contrast against the green lawn and the pastel houses dotting the street. His perpetual grin seemed extra cheerful at her shocked squeak, “Well, isn’t someone excited to see me today!”

She lunged at him and pushed him into her house and out of sight from the prying eyes of neighbors. “Please, please, please don’t do that! You could scare someone to death!”

“While that sounds fun, it’s not the reason I’m here.” Him’s voice went low, not entirely demonic, but the threat was there.

“Why are you here?” The implicit threat in his voice made her nervous and she forced a nervous laugh.

He sighed very melodramatically, “You’re not wearing the present I gave you.”

“The necklace.” That was obvious, but so was the fact that she couldn’t wear it.

“Yes,” Him was frowning, but his smile was honestly scarier, “I got you a friendship gift and you aren’t even wearing it.”

Bubbles didn’t want to make him mad, and not only because he could probably level all of Townsville, “You know I can’t! It’s not the kind of thing people wear day to day and where am I going to say I got it from?”

Those were valid points and he seemed to acknowledge that, but still he was upset, “But I wanted to get you a gift!”

“It’s just not the kind of gift I can accept,” She shrugged awkwardly, “I’m sorry.”

“Let me get you a different gift then.” He sighed, acting like it was some great inconvenience that he wanted to give her something and why did she have to make things so difficult? “I’ll even let you pick it out.”

It was without thinking that Bubbles agreed, just hoping it would get them out of there before the professor came into the living room to find his daughter talking with the biblical Satan, “Okay.”

With her agreement his sulking frown turned upside down. Him broke out into a cheery grin and threw his arms around her, “This will be fun!”

They disappeared with the cracking sound of air rushing back to the space they had left.

When they came back into existence Bubbles still held tight to Him. Sure he was the definition of a monster, but he was still a monster who seemed to be on her side. It was only when claws trailed down her back and things got weird that she released him and stepped back.

This time they weren’t in a horrifying hellscape. In fact, Bubbles knew where they were, “Are we in Milan?”

The city of Milan, Italy was the kind best described as majestic. It was a blend of modern glass towers and well kept classical architecture. Large stone store fronts lined the street they were on, offering only the highest fashion in Italian. In the arched windows of the building Bubbles could see dress and jewelry they was displayed without any price. Casually well dressed people walked the street, idly window shopping. The split where Him and Bubbles stood, giving the pair a wide berth.

“Via Monte Napoleone, to be exact.” He gestured grandly around them, “Only the best, after all.”

Bubbles was seized by the two urges to get him out of sight before people freak out and to stare dumbly at a stunning dress in a window. It appeared to be made entirely out of gold leaf. Her better sense won, “Him, we can’t be here! What if someone sees you and calls the police.”

“Sweet Bubbles,” He laughed, “They don’t care so long as we have money to spend!”

With that he slipped an arm around her shoulder and led her into a store.

It was a boutique full of shimmery dresses like the gold one she had previously seen. Neatly dressed floor workers walked around and one strolled up to them, face set in a nervous and submissive smile.

“Can I help you?” The woman was talking in Italian, but both Bubbles and Him understood with ease.

“I’ll be taking this lovely lady,” Him gestured to Bubbles, “Out to dinner and she needs something appropriate.”

This was the first she had heard of going out to dinner with Him, but it was clear she had little choice in the matter, “Please.”

The worker woman ushered Bubbles further into the store showing her gorgeous dresses in varying shades of blue. From deep v-necks to Queen Anne collars, long to short to anything in between, all the dresses were beautiful. They were made of every fabric imaginable: lace and velvet and tulle and shining silk. With every dress Him’s compliments grew, telling Bubbles she was simply the most beautiful creature ever to walk the Earth. At some point Him excused himself, declaring he needed to find something to wear as well.

At the sight of a baby blue dress with a full skirt, Bubbles interrupted, “Um, I’m not the fashion expert, but could I try something that’s not blue?”

The woman stared uncomprehending for a moment. The idea of the blue powerpuff not wanting to wear her signature color was simply unimaginable. She’d been wearing blue since her birth. Then the woman smiled and nodded, assuring Bubbles she would be back with other dresses.

And she did deliver. She brought a multitude of dresses in shades Bubbles had worn maybe once in her life.

Trying on dress in Blossom’s pink she almost swooned. The tight body of the dress went halfway down her thigh before flaring out into a mermaid tail. It accented her tiny waist and the idea of wearing Blossom’s color brought a blush to her cheeks.

The next dress was a billowing green one that seemed to be made entirely from precious gems and petticoats. The enormous skirt and glittering waist made her look like she stepped off the cover of a regency romance novel. Despite baring her color, it wasn’t something Buttercup would have ever worn.

It continued like that across the entire color spectrum as Bubbles fell more and more in love with each dress. She wanted them all.

Not that she was going to get them they weren’t the least bit practical. She couldn’t fight a monster if she couldn’t see them over her skirt or through her sleeves.

Him arrived in the dressing room without warning, leaving Bubbles in her frilly white bra and panties.

“What do you thiiink?” The high voice drawled.

“Him!” Bubbles exclaimed and tried to cover herself with the long train of a dress she had just tried on.

The demon had no interest in her partial nudity. He was too busy posing to pay attention to the half dressed girl. He did look stunning after all.

His normal attire of a belted red dress with a fluffy collar had been traded for a short sleeveless silk dress. He wore a thick black cape with an enormous white fur collar, rising above the top of his head. Instead of his usual black thigh high boots he wore shiny red stilettos and white thigh high socks. He had clearly been taking style advice from Rocky Horror. To complete the look he wore a gold coronet that shone atop his black hair.

“Y-You look very nice,” She stuttered out. He looked nice to a degree she shouldn’t be noticing in villians. The collar of his cape framed his face so well and he had a very nice figure for the dress, all trim and lean. Searching for a safe compliment she gestured towards his shoes, “Those heels make your calves look great!”

“I know, I do look fantastic,” He admired himself in the mirror, posing like a French girl.

“But if you go out dressed like that,” Him tore himself away from his own reflection and looked at her lack of outerwear, “You might even overshadow me.”

Now Bubbles was blushing for reasons other than the fact she just checked out a villain, “I was about to try on another.”

“Well don’t let me stop you!”

So she didn’t. The last dress she had to try on was the gold leaf one she had seen earlier. As she slipped it on it fit like a glove. The leaf was overlaid in a circular pattern beginning at her bust and travelling down the length of the dress to the floor, where it swept out in a wide train, “What do you think?”

His stare was only accented with a single raised eyebrow, “Why, Bubbles, it’s not blue.”

“I wanted to try something else for a change,” She straightened her back and set her face. She didn’t want to upset him, but for once in her life she wanted to wear something that wasn’t blue.

He broke out into his impossibly wide grin, “Oh you look daaarling! It’s perfect!”

Bubbles smiled too. She felt perfect, even if it was a shame to leave all those other beautiful dresses behind.

Catching the briefest flash of sadness for the fact she couldn’t wear every dress on her face Him pouted, “Aw, what’s wrong?” He reached out and grasped her hands carefully in his claws, “Did they mess up on your service? Do you want me to kill them?”

This was the first time Him had ever offered such a thing and Bubbles jerked back, blinking hard, “No! Of course not!”

“Then what’s the matter, dear Bubbles?” He seemed amused by her response.

She grimaced, still disturbed by how easy he offered to kill someone, “Killing is wrong.”

“No, not about that,” He rolled his eyes like she was being intentionally obtuse, “About the dress.”

“Oh,” She shrugged, “They were just all so nice it was hard to choose one.”

His laughter echoed loudly in the dressing room, “Then just get them all!”

“I can’t do that!” Bubbles balked, “They’re so expensive and I’ll never have anywhere to wear them!”

“First of all, I’m paying for them,” Him rolled his eyes again at her continued obtuseness, “And second, why wouldn’t you be wearing them?”

“These aren’t exactly crime fighting dresses.” She motioned to the various dresses that could only be dry cleaned.

“So?” He picked up a shimmery red dress and examined it, “You are allowed to have fun sometimes.”

“It just seems too greedy.” It did, she didn’t really need those dresses.

“And what’s wrong with that?” He set down the dress and cupped her face in his claws, “It’s not hurting anyone.”

“Yeah…” She bit her lip, unconvinced.

“So you should get them! If you want it, you can have it.” And his grin was so happy she couldn’t help but grin along.

Bubbles nodded and Him let go of her, “Wonderful! I’ll go pay for these, keep the dress on, we have reservations to get.”

It turned out they really did have standing reservations at Dante’s Inferno. It was quite nice, the food only seemed to have improved from last time. After a substantially less drunken dinner than before, the pair returned to Bubbles house, into her bedroom.

“Are you sure?” Bubbles leaned close and giggled. They were sitting on her bed and gossiping, close together so they could whisper without Blossom hearing.

“Completely,” He nodded solemnly.

“But Mojo and Sedusa?” The idea seemed impossible; Mojo was way too  megalomaniacal to spend any real amount of time dealing with another self-obsessed villain.

“Well, we were all drunk, sweetheart,” His whispering voice was low and growly, if Bubbles wasn’t so invested in the conversation she would be afraid, “It was a New Year’s party.”

She giggled and leaned back, “Wow, that sounds like a lot more fun than hero parties.”

He spread his arms in a of course it does gesture, “Perhaps next time I could take you with me.”

“No way they’d let me in,” She shook she head and laughed.

“Oh, you’d be surprised who they let attend.” Him stared at her, and Bubbles knew who he was referring to.

She looked at her lap, “Buttercup.”

He wrapped an arm around her and it was actually comforting.

For a moment they just sat like that, curled into each other.

“Unfortunately,” the red man sighed, “I do need to go.”

She nodded and pulled away from Him, “Okay, I’ll see you later?”

He smiled, “Of course, Bubbles. And do wear another one of the dresses, you look simply fantastic in them.”

When he left she almost felt lonely. Until she realized she was going to have to explain what happened to Blossom.

It wasn’t until the next morning that she found the diamond necklace wrapped in one of the dresses


End file.
